Book reviews

Blue Dragon White Tiger. Michael Saso, 1990 Hawaii, University of Hawaii Press 215 pp., No price given

Chuang‐Tzu for Spiritual Transformation. Robert E. Allinson, 1989 Albany, State University of New York Press 203 pp., $39.50 hb, $14.95 pb

Japanese Martial Arts and American Sports. Cross‐Cultural Perspectives on Means to Personal Growth M. Kiyota & H. Kinoshita (Eds), 1990 Tokyo, Nihon University 247 pp., No price given

The Question of Rationality and the Basic Grammar of Intercultural Texts. Hwa Yol Jung, 1989. IUJ Monograph 3, Nigata, International University of Japan ¥2000

The Arabic Linguistic Tradition. G. Bohas, J.‐P. Guillaume & D. E. Kouloughli, 1990 London and New York, Routledge 163+x pp., £30.00

The Body: Toward an Eastern Mind‐Body Theory. Yuasa Yasuo, edited by T. P. Kasulis and translated by Nagatomo Shigenori Albany, State University of New York Press $14.95 hb

Sainthood, Its Manifestations in World Religions. Richard Kieckerhefer & George D. Bond (Eds), 1990 University of California Press XII + 263 pp., $12.95 pb

East of Existentialism: The Tao of the West. Ray Billington, 1990 London, Unwin Hyman xviii+316 pp., No price given     

TEACHING CHILDREN WITH AUTISM TO SEEK INFORMATION-ACQUISITION OF NOVEL INFORMATION AND GENERALIZATION OF RESPONDING

A time delay procedure was used to teach 3 children with autism to ask the question “What's that?” when novel stimuli were presented during an instructional task. Once the ability to ask the question was acquired, the children's ability to learn novel information by asking the question was assessed. The children were then taught to ask the question within a less structured context. All three studies used a multiple baseline across participants. Generalization was assessed in a different room, to a new person, and to novel stimuli. All of the children learned to ask the question within the instructional context, while on a walk in the school building, and to request information about three-dimensional objects. The acquisition of novel information was consistent for receptive and expressive tests for 2 of the children, with varied results for the 3rd. These studies indicate that children with autism can be taught to ask questions that lead to the acquisition of new information.     

PYRAMIDAL STAFF TRAINING IN THE EXTENSION OF TREATMENT FOR SEVERE BEHAVIOR DISORDERS

We implemented a pyramidal training procedure for staff working with individuals who exhibited self-injurious behavior (SIB), aggression, and disruption. Two adults with developmental disabilities and their direct-care staff and supervisors participated. Following successful treatment by the experimenters, two types of baselines were conducted with the clients and their direct-care staff. During an initial baseline, the staff implemented preexisting procedures. Staff members then received instruction on the new treatment procedures using training methods common throughout the institution, and data were collected during this “post-in-service” baseline. Experimenters then taught unit supervisors to implement treatment, collect and interpret data, and provide similar instructions and feedback to the staff members. The supervisor training was implemented in a multiple baseline design across subjects (clients and direct-care staff). Results showed little change following in-service training but noticeable improvements in direct-care staff behaviors and corresponding decreases in the clients' inappropriate behavior following the pyramidal training intervention with supervisors. Six additional clients (along with their direct-care staff and supervisors) participated in pre- and posttreatment replication designs, and their results provided additional support for the efficacy of the supervisor training procedures.     

THE FUNCTIONS OF SELF-INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR: AN EXPERIMENTAL-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Data are summarized from 152 single-subject analyses of the reinforcing functions of self-injurious behavior (SIB). Individuals with developmental disabilities referred for assessment and/or treatment over an 11-year period were exposed to a series of conditions in which the effects of antecedent and consequent events on SIB were examined systematically by way of multielement, reversal, or combined designs. Data were collected during approximately 4,000 experimental sessions (1,000 hr), with the length of assessment for individuals ranging from 8 to 66 sessions (M = 26.2) conducted over 2 to 16.5 hr (M = 6.5). Differential or uniformly high responding was observed in 145 (95.4%) of the cases. Social-negative reinforcement (escape from task demands or other sources of aversive stimulation) accounted for 58 cases, which was the largest proportion of the sample (38.1%). Social-positive reinforcement (either attention or access to food or materials) accounted for 40 (26.3%) of the cases, automatic (sensory) reinforcement accounted for 39 (25.7%), and multiple controlling variables accounted for 8 (5.3%). Seven sets of data (4.6%) showed either cyclical or inconsistent patterns of responding that were uninterpretable. Overall results indicated that functional analysis methodologies are extremely effective in identifying the environmental determinants of SIB on an individual basis and, subsequently, in guiding the process of treatment selection. Furthermore, an accumulation of assessment data from such analyses across a large number of individuals provides perhaps the most rigorous approach to an epidemiological study of behavioral function.     

Inflated responsibility in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Psychometric studies of a semiidiographic measure

An excessive sense of responsibility has been attributed a key role in recent models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study presents the development and initial validation of the Responsibility Questionnaire. Three hundred ninety-seven volunteer adults participated in the study. The Responsibility Questionnaire demonstrated adequate stability over a 6-week interval. Correlation analysis showed that responsibility was significantly related to obsessive-compulsive symptoms, thought suppression, irrational beliefs, and obsessional thoughts. Results are discussed in terms of current models of OCD and the implications for future research.This study was conducted by the first author under the supervision of the second author in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Maîtrise de Psychologie degree at Université Laval. The first author was supported by les Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et l'Aide à la Recherche.     

Impact of the format of user instructions on the handling of a wrist blood pressure monitor

Cognitive Processing - Few studies have focused on procedural documents in the field of home medical devices, although incorrect use and usability problems can have important consequences for the...     

Changing the means of managerial work: effects of automated decision support systems on personnel selection tasks

Journal of Business and Psychology - To enhance the quality and efficiency of information processing and decision-making, automation based on artificial intelligence and machine learning has...